Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 50 2021

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

China could fail to meet

2021 solar target

CHINA CHINA is in danger of failing to meet its solar supply constraint on photovoltaic raw materials
capacity targets for 2020 as rising prices for raw and runaway product prices hit new projects.
materials slow down new projects. China’s solar module exports reached 82.2
Installed capacity could reach just 45-55GW GW in the first 10 months of 2021, up 32% on
during 2021, considerably less than the forecast the year, CPIA data showed, destined mostly
55-65GW, Reuters reported for Australia, Europe and Japan, while sales to
China’s solar capacity rose by 500% between emerging markets such as Brazil, India and Viet-
2015 and 2020, reaching 253.43GW. nam also picked up.
However, an uptake in installation in future Wang also warned that tightening global
could see up to 75GW brought online in 2022, trade conditions could affect development of
Wang Bohua, vice-chairman of the China Pho- the industry.
tovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), told a The US last week banned imports from the
conference. far western region of Xinjiang over concerns
Looking further ahead, capacity additions about forced labour. Xinjiang supplies about
could reach 90-110GW. 45% of the world’s solar panel-grade polysilicon.
Prices of silicon materials and silicon wafer In June, Washington banned imports of sil-
surged 165% and 63%, respectively, in the period ica-based products made by Hoshine Silicon
from January to September, Wang said, although Industry Co. and its subsidiaries in the region.
prices have cooled in recent weeks. The US Department of Homeland Securi-
President Xi Jinping has pledged to boost ty’s US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
total installed solar and wind capacity to 1,200 issued a ‘withhold release order’ on the products,
GW by 2030 in the fight on climate change, which allows CBP to seize imports it believes
implying his country would need to add 665 GW may be made with forced labour.
of solar and wind capacity within this decade. Some Chinese solar makers, such as Longi
Over the first 10 months this year, however, Green Tech, have set up manufacturing plants
just 29.31 GW of new solar power generation overseas to avoid the tension over politics and
capacity was launched, official data showed, as a trade.™

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